We've Lost. What Now?

Is the church of the twenty-first century supposed to regain its former glory, or is it too late? Are the people of God in exile yet again? Have we lost our cultural footing and are now in desperate need to find a new way for the present millennium? Daniel was born into a nation of God-fearers, where the Scriptures were embraced and biblical values espoused. But that all changed with the Babylonian exile. Daniel's God, his values, and his faith had become irrelevant and even despised in his society. With the erosion of Christendom, Daniel's story has become the church's story! We've Lost. What Now? offers a clear, insightful, and relevant exposition of Daniel in order to empower believers to minister more effectively than ever before from the social and cultural margins the church now inhabits. ""Increasingly the church in North America is wrestling with a crucial question: How can we minister effectively from the margins of our culture? Wayne Baxter helps readers to enter the exilic world of Daniel in order to see how the message of this book can speak to the life of the church as it seeks to live out its calling in the 21st century."" --Gordon Oeste, Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, Heritage College & Seminary, Cambridge ""Much of the literature on the book of Daniel either gets lost in the details of history and prophetic speculation or gives moralistic prescriptions only loosely tied to the text of the book, but Wayne Baxter's book combines serious attention to the text with insightful implications for God's people in exile today. This is serious scholarship in service of the church in our time and place."" --Stanley K. Fowler, Professor of Theological Studies, Heritage College & Seminary, Cambridge ""The Book of Daniel is not the easiest book of the Bible to interpret. It is either simplified into children's stories or mined for prophetic predictions. Wayne Baxter does the church a great service by connecting the downfall of Christendom with the downfall of Israel and showing us that Daniel's story is our story."" --Stephen Bedard, adjunct instructor, Emmanuel Bible College, Kitchener, ""Wayne Baxter argues Christians have lost the place of privilege, prominence, and power in society. But that doesn't mean all is lost. Drawing from the book of Daniel, Baxter explains how those living in exile can still be people of influence. Far from defeatist in attitude, We've Lost. What Now? is full of hope. It shows how authentic Christians can impact others for Christ--even from the margins of society."" --Rick Reed, President, Heritage College and Seminary, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada Wayne Baxter is Associate Professor of New Testament and Greek at Heritage College & Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario Canada. He holds a PhD from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL. He is the author of Israel's Only Shepherd: Matthew's Shepherd Motif and His Social Setting (2012) as well as numerous scholarly articles in academic journals. He has pastored churches in Windsor, Ottawa, and Toronto.